Picking Up Where We Left Off
by obaewan-kenobi
Summary: The lives the Bennet Sisters lead them after Lizzie's new videos. Basically really long, extensively planned out fluff.
1. Export

"So, what do you think?' Lizzie asked as her video ended. She hadn't edited a video in ages, so she wanted to make sure it had the best critique possible. Darcy furrowed his eyebrows and looked over at her, sitting across from him at the table. She was still in her pajamas.

"It was good, I'm just… not sure why it had to end when I got there," he remarked. Lizzie smiled as she turned her laptop back around to face her.

"Because they like it, the viewers, they get all excited. I'll edit the rest and upload it on Monday, like my old schedule. Besides, the old viewers won't even be expecting a video. How do you think they would handle the both of us onscreen together visibly in a stable relationship? Let's not give it to them all at once. Thanks for agreeing to be in it, by the way."

"It was my pleasure. Leaving out the fact that Bing and Jane's wedding is in less than two months was a good decision."

"I thought what I said would cut it; I rarely told my viewers _everything," _she replied with a smirk.

"Well, it seems good to me," he concluded, returning to his bowl of cereal.

"Okay, export," Lizzie said, clicking on the button, then taking a sip of coffee. She slowly ate her cereal as she checked to make sure all her reservations for her conference in New York next week were good to go. She felt a nagging sensation in the back of her mind, a bit of worry, but she didn't know why. Everything was going well. She had moved in with Darcy a few months ago after Dr. Gardiner's friend had returned, and her business, Longbourne Industries, was slowly becoming very popular. Bing and Jane were getting married_. _Lydia was finishing her first year at USF as a psych major. There was nothing to worry about. She brushed it off and got up. She kissed Darcy on the cheek as she walked towards the bedroom to get ready for work.

* * *

Lydia felt the sun on her face as she walked out of class. She had two weeks until finals, and then she would be done. Then it would be summer. She still didn't like school that much, but she stuck around because of Ty. He was practically her best friend; they had met on her first day at USF and they somehow had a majority of their classes together. He was new this year as well, he had moved away from New Zealand to live with his aunt and study psychology as well. Lydia was taking a break from guys for the time being, and Ty totally respected that. It had been three months before Lydia actually gave Ty her phone number or even hung out with him outside of school. Her counseling helped, but it was still hard for her to trust. Not after what had happened back in March.

"I'm starving," she heard him say behind her. Ty caught up with her and shot her one of his crooked smiles.

"Well, it's a good thing we have time for lunch now, isn't it?" she replied, sitting down on one of the campus' many benches and pulling her bag onto her lap. Ty sat next to her as she turned her phone back on. It obviously wasn't a school requirement, but having it off during class helped her to focus. She glanced over at him as he stared up at the sky.

"Do they not have clouds in New Zealand?" she asked him jokingly. He looked at her with mock offense.

"You keep being mean and no one's ever going to date you, Lydia Bennet." She smirked at him.

"Oh, no! Tiberius, you've discovered my evil plan," she said, "for the time being…" He frowned, ran his fingers through his curly, dirty-blonde hair, and muttered, "Don't call me that." Lydia's phone began to buzz with all the notifications she'd missed during their last two exams.

"Mary's on her lunch break, she wants to know if you're game for froyo," Lydia read.

"I am always game for froyo," he replied.

"I'll let her know." She continued scrolling through her phone. She grabbed Ty's arm.

"I can't believe it!" Lydia yelled, scaring a few nearby pigeons.

"What is it?" Ty asked, slightly concerned. He craned his neck over to see Lydia's screen.

"Apparently, Lizzie posted a new video. _Without me!" _

"Okay, one: I thought she stopped doing that a year ago, and two: you told me you weren't about that anymore."

"That's definitely what happened, and maybe I did say that, but that's not important. C'mon," she said, popping up, "let's go find a froyo place with good wifi."

* * *

1 week. Jane's 48 hours of worry seemed like a trip to Tahiti compared to the past 7 days. The first day she had deemed it nothing, two days, a small feeling of worry took root in the back of her mind. After three days she knew this wasn't a fluke. Day four was when she had told Bing, day five they decided that they would find out for certain, but only if it persisted to day seven. And here Jane was, 9 p.m., running home from the drugstore in the rain, a small plastic bag containing the pregnancy test in one hand and fiddling with her engagement ring with the other. She was breathing heavily by the time she had reached the elevator. As it slowly rose to the 8th floor, Jane decided that the worst thing about this possibility of a situation was the timing. Less than two months from now was her wedding with the man of her dreams. She let out a small laugh. She had just finished tailoring her dress.

The ding of the elevator brought her back to reality. She made her way to the door of her apartment and went in. Bing quickly sat down on the sofa, but she knew he had been pacing. He got up and hugged her, even though she was soaking wet. They each took a deep breath. The next few minutes could potentially change their lives forever. Jane gave Bing a weak smile.

" Here we go," she said, and took the small bag into the bathroom. Bing waited outside the door until she came out again holding the little plastic stick.

"How long-"Bing started.  
"About two minutes," she said, checking the timer she had set on her phone.

"Jane," he began, lifting up her chin, "We've talked about taking the test. We haven't talked about what will happen if it's positive." She shook her head.

"It would just be a lot of fuss if it isn't, and if it is we'll have a lot of time."

"Look, we're about to spend the rest of our lives together. We need to talk about things like this."

"A week ago I wasn't even thinking about anything remotely close to this, Bing. It's not that I don't want this, it's just… bad timing." He nodded. There was silence for a few moments as Bing followed Jane to the couch.

"Bad timing seems to be a recurring factor in our relationship," he said with a nervous laugh. Jane laughed, too, but the smile faded quickly. Bing kissed her on the forehead.

"Whatever happens, Jane, we'll handle it togeth-" just then the timer went off. After taking another deep breath, Jane looked at the test.

"Positive."

* * *

"I swear, this place is bigger every time I come over," Lydia said, looking around Darcy and Lizzie's apartment. Lizzie laughed. Since she was leaving for her conference in New York on Monday, she decided to invite Lydia and Mary over for dinner. Mary had plans with Eddie, so it was just Lydia. Lizzie was just about to start cooking when Lydia arrived.

"Can I help?" Lydia asked, "I mean, I'm not that good, but…"

"Sure," Lizzie replied with a smile. She set Lydia up with something simple and started working on the main dish.

"So," Lydia began, "When's Darce-face getting here?" Lizzie looked at the clock on the wall.

"He told me he was on his way home about ten minutes ago, so any minute, I guess." Lydia nodded. Almost as if on cue, Lizzie heard the door open and looked over to see Darcy coming in.

"Hello, Lizzie," he said with a smile.

"Hi," she replied. A few moments later Lydia said, "Hi, Darcy."

"Oh, Lydia, I almost forgot you were coming."

"I gathered."

"My apologies." He rolled up his sleeves and started on one of the side dishes. They chatted and made dinner together. Lizzie was excited to see Jane again next week; she hadn't seen her in person since Bing had proposed.

"Promise me you'll get me something cool in NYC," Lydia said.

"Maybe, but you know that Jane's going to have something great for me to bring back for you," Lizzie insisted. Lizzie missed Jane, but she was glad to have Lydia around all the time. She had really grown up, yet somehow she was the same kid she was before she started her videos. After dinner was over, Lydia said goodnight and went home.

"Do you like having Lydia over?" Lizzie asked Darcy while he was doing the dishes.

"She's growing on me," he replied. He wasn't the best at social interactions. Lizzie knew that all to well. She hopped up onto the counter next to the sink.

"She may not act like it, but she owes you a lot and she knows it."

"How many more times do I have to tell you that I didn't do it for her."

"At least three," she said with a smile, and she kissed him.


	2. High-Velocity Throw Pillow

Jane was nervous. Lizzie had booked the earliest possible flight in, which landed her at JFK at about three. Jane waited by the gate with her sign. She felt her phone buzz and saw it was a text from Lizzie:

_Landed safe and sound! I'm all carry-ons so I'll be out soon._

Jane smiled and typed:

_Can't wait. See you soon!_

She put her phone back in her bag and held up the sign that said "Lizzie" on it. Jane always made things for other people when she was upset or nervous. Right now it was the latter. She hadn't seen Lizzie since thanksgiving, and a lot had changed since then. Jane glanced back up at the top of the arrivals escalator and suddenly saw a familiar face. She was smiling before she knew it. Lizzie saw the sign and laughed appreciatively, getting a few looks from fellow passengers on the escalator. As soon as she reached the bottom of the escalator, Lizzie rushed to hug her sister.

"Oh, Lizzie, it's so good to see you," Jane said as she let go. She insisted on carrying Lizzie's bag and they caught up as they made their way onto the subway. By the time they arrived at their stop, it was almost as if she and Lizzie had never been apart. Jane had taken the day off and Lizzie's conference didn't start until tomorrow, so they would have the day (and the apartment) to themselves. As Jane approached the door, Lizzie took back her bag so Jane could have both hands free.

"Oh, hey, I almost forgot," Lizzie began, "are you alright? You said you weren't feeling well last week when I called you. I mean, you seem fine, but you know. Just wanted to make sure." Lizzie smiled. Jane unlocked the door, went inside, and turned to face Lizzie.

"Um, about that, I'm not fine. I mean, I am fine. I'm just… not…"

"Not what? Are you and Bing okay?"

"We're great, actually," Jane took a deep breath," I'm pregnant." She smiled. Lizzie hugged her.

"Jane, that's great!" She paused and stepped back, "That's great, right?"

"Yeah," Jane nodded, "Yeah, it is. Just, don't tell anyone yet. It's, like, way too early anyways. Bing and I think we're going to wait until after the wedding. I just had to tell you. Even if something happens, I wanted you to know. You're my best friend."

"So you and Bing are actually doing this? You're not, I don't know, freaking out or anything?"

"Lizzie, of course I'm freaking out. My wedding is in a month and a half and I just found out I'm going to be a mom. I think anyone would be freaking out. But Bing's here and we knew this would happen eventually, just not so soon, I guess." Jane smiled.

"I'm really happy for you two," Lizzie said. Jane was happy to have her.

* * *

"So, long story short, I had to do the entire presentation by myself," Lizzie told Darcy. She was calling him for the first time in days. Sure, she was flying home the next day, but she had been meaning to talk to him since she had flown in on Monday. She had just returned from a night out in the city with Bing and Jane. They had gotten all dressed up to take her out to dinner and see Lion King on Broadway. Now she sat barefoot on the couch on the phone with her boyfriend.

"Tell him I said hi," Bing put in, as he got up to go change into something more comfortable.

"Bing says hi," she relayed.

"Tell him I look forward to seeing him at his wedding," Darcy replied. Jane sat on a chair next to Lizzie, surfing the channels to see if anything good was on.

"Speaking of," Darcy continued, "you've told me about the conference, but you haven't told me how Bing and Jane are doing."

"They're fine. Excited tor the wedding. Um, Jane's pre-" Lizzie was suddenly aware of the high-velocity throw pillow zooming toward her head, and was too late to miss it. She nearly dropped her phone.

"What?" she heard Darcy say "Is everything alright over there?" Jane shot Lizzie a look.

"Everything's good," Lizzie replied, "Jane's just, uh, practicing. Yes, practicing her vows. Wedding's in six weeks, everything has to be perfect!"

"I see," Darcy said, with a hint of suspicion. Jane was still watching Lizzie carefully.

"Alright, Jane wants to practice some more. I have to go, but I'll see you tomorrow, okay? I love you," Lizzie concluded.

"Love you, too," Darcy said, and he hung up. Lizzie put down her phone and turned to Jane.

"You threw a pillow at my face!" Lizzie exclaimed.

"I told you not to tell anyone!" Jane reminded her.

"Yes, but, he's my boyfriend and Bing's best friend. I thought maybe he deserved to know."

"He does. But, you know, not yet. And not from you. Like you said, Bing's his best friend. Darcy deserves to hear it from him."

"Right," Lizzie paused and looked down, "Sorry for doing that thing again."

"What thing?"

"That thing where I try to share other people's personal lives without their permission." Jane moved over onto the couch next to Lizzie and put her arm around her.

"Yeah, I'm afraid that's a bad habit to get back into," Jane reassured her. Lizzie leaned her head onto Jane's shoulder. She was glad to have a sister like her.

* * *

"Lizzie got in last night, she's sleeping off the jet lag," Lydia announced as she walked into her apartment. Lydia noticed that Mary was sitting on the couch with a bunch of papers in her hand.

"Is everything okay?" Lydia asked.

"Hmm? Oh, yeah. We just have to renew the lease by the first week of July."

"So? That's like a month away right? We should be okay," Lydia insisted, sliding next to Mary on the couch. Mary's brow furrowed.

"We have enough money don't we?" Lydia was slightly worried now. Mary nodded slowly and looked up from her papers.

"Yeah, definitely. It's just, I feel like something's going to happen between now and then. Like we should wait." Lydia wasn't sure what she meant. Mary was better at the money and finances thing than Lydia was.

"Mary, we've got this." Lydia squeezed Mary's hand. They both smiled.

"Hey," Mary began, "don't worry about it. You've got other things to worry about."

"Like what?" Lydia said with fake obliviousness.

"Finals on Monday, for one." Lydia groaned and smashed her face into a pillow. Mary laughed.


	3. 80's movies

"By the way," Charlotte began, changing the subject, "Maria told me to tell you that she and her class finished their final projects." Lizzie laughed.

"She really wants that Darcy footage, huh? Tell her that as soon as I get the okay from Dr. Gardiner, I'll put it up." Lizzie was happy to talk to Charlotte. She remembered when they had started her diaries, now they were in charge of different tech-related companies. They were lucky if they could call each other at lunch. Today was one of those lucky days.

"Okay. I apologize for my sister's strange obsession with your love life," Charlotte added.

"No worries," Lizzie replied, "I used to share my sister's love life with the internet. I'm not even slightly surprised that the internet, including Maria, wants to hear about mine." She looked at her watch. "Char, I'm so sorry, but my break's almost over. I've got to get back to the office." She heard Charlotte sigh.

"Alright, Lizzie. It was nice talking to you again."

"I miss you."

"Miss you, too. I'll see you at the wedding."

"Bye." Lizzie put her phone back in her bag and threw the small remainder of her lunch in the trash. She got on the train and made her way back to the office. At this point, her company, Longbourne Industries, took up a mere two floors of the skyscraper, but they were densely populated. Lizzie's office was on the higher of the two, with a great view of the city. She put down her bag, sat in her fancy boss chair (her title for it), and woke up her computer to check her email. As if on cue, there was an email from Dr. Gardiner.

* * *

"We even agreed upon a schedule, see?" Lydia announced, holding up a piece of loose leaf with some scribbles on it.

"How organized," Mary noted sarcastically. Mary was getting ready for work while Lydia was waiting for Ty to arrive. It was his last week in San Fran before he went back to New Zealand for the summer. They were celebrating in the best way they could think of. Mary grabbed Lydia's paper and studied it more closely.

"You gave it a title? 'Tiberius Redmond &amp; Lydia Bennet's Post-Finals-Week Binge-Watch-A-Thon'?" she read, skeptical.

"We might make it a tradition. Today, we're watching Disney movies," Lydia elaborated.

"He actually talked you into watching _Lord of the Rings_?"

"He said something about it 'being from his homeland' and 'knowing I'd like it'. Whatever. I trust him." Mary looked up at her.

"Okay. So, you're really comfortable watching _Game of Thrones_ with him for two days straight?"

"I think so, but-" Lydia began, but was interrupted by a knock on the door. "That's him! Get the door, I've got to go put _The Lion King_ in!" Mary sighed and walked over to the door. She opened it, let Ty in, and walked out. By the time Lydia saw her again, it was dark out, and Ty had fallen asleep next to her. The next day proceeded similarly, but Lydia knew something was up when Mary got home not long after lunch. Lydia paused _The Two Towers _and followed Mary into her room. She was packing a small bag full of clothes and essentials.

"Is everything okay?" Lydia asked, worried. Ty stood at the door behind her, also concerned.

"It's my mom," Mary replied hurriedly, "she's in the hospital. Appendicitis. She'll be fine, but she just needs me right now. Don't worry about it. You two go back to your movies."

"You sure?" Lydia asked. Mary nodded with a weak smile and hugged her.

"Give your mum our best," Ty added. To his surprise, Mary hugged him too.

"Go enjoy your Hobbits and stuff. Really, don't worry about it. I'll be back soon, once mom's better. Now go on, don't let me stop you." Ty and Lydia reluctantly went back to their couch and exchanged a worried look before resuming their movie.

Late Thursday night, while Ty was getting popcorn before the final episode, Lydia came to a decision she had been internally debating for months. When she and Ty became friends, she had requested that he never do this. She hadn't even don it since the events she had dubbed "The Dickham Incident". Upon returning with more popcorn, Ty noticed the odd expression on her face.

"Hey, are you alright? Who am I kidding, no one's alright after the Red Wedding."

"Yeah, that was intense, but, no. That's not it. I, um, I don't want to watch 80's movies tomorrow." She took a deep breath, "I want to show you Lizzie's videos."

* * *

"We're missing something, Bing," Jane said, leafing through her wedding binder.

"I hope to god we're not missing anything because we've only got a month. We have everything, don't we? We've got a venue, a band, we've planned the reception seating, and all that other stuff. What else could we need?"

"I don't know. I'm just really nervous. Trying to keep my mind off of other things. Like my mom. You know how boastful she can be. If she somehow finds out I'm pregnant, she'll tell everyone at the wedding before we're even married. Everyone will get the wrong idea."

"You think if people find out they'll assume that's why we're getting married? Jane, that doesn't even make any sense. I proposed in November!" Bing sighed.

"I know, Bing, but still. My mom can't know. I think to play it safe we just shouldn't tell anyone until we get back from Venice. I mean, it's too early anyways."

"You're right," he said, putting his hand on her shoulder, "Let's just focus on the wedding and put that a bit to the side until after the wedding. We can freak out about one thing at a time, okay?" Jane laughed and went back to leafing through her binder.

"We're still missing something."

* * *

"… the Ly-di-a!" the Lydia on the screen said.

"Oh my God, I was so annoying," Lydia remarked, looking at Ty's face to see whether or not he agreed.

"You were really different, I'll give you that," he insisted, but there was a hint of sadness. He looked over at her. "That Wickham really did a number on you." Lydia felt the tears coming.

"Ty, I told you not to mention him."

"Yet, you're showing me the videos which I have no doubt have something to do with him. I'm just taking a guess that that's why you haven't shown them to me yet. You can't avoid them forever, Lydia, you're the one who suggested we watch them." He noticed her eyes welling and suddenly felt awful. "Lydia I'm sorry. That was really harsh and not my place to go there."

"No, Ty, you're right. I can't avoid him or what he did. And you have the right to know. Just don't be surprised if I can't stay on this couch the whole time." And she didn't. She remembered which ones he had appeared in, and before Ty could say anything, she would hide in the bathroom before George came on screen. She would come back for the others, but when they got to the part about the website, Lydia couldn't bear to watch anymore and found herself sitting on her bed, crying. After a while, Ty came in and sat next to her.

"I'm sorry, Lydia. I shouldn't have agreed to watch them with you. I had no idea how much it would hurt you," he said, putting his arm around her and hugging her.

"Neither did I," Lydia agreed. "But you needed to see them. Now you know about what happened. How stupid I was."

" Lydia, you weren't stupid. He was a douchebag that tricked you. I didn't watch your videos, but I'm sure he was very convincing. Besides, that was, what, over a year ago? You're way stronger and more awesome now. If he saw you, he'd be like, 'Oh, I should never have tried to take advantage of Lydia Bennet, because now, she could probably kick my ass, but she wouldn't have to because her awesome also badass friend Ty would happily do it for her!'" Lydia laughed. Ty's American accent was terrible.


	4. Fireworks

Lydia was woken by her phone ringing. She didn't know what time it was or if she had overslept, she just knew that she didn't have to be at work at all and Mary wasn't home. She looked at the time on her phone, and saw that Mary was calling and it was well past noon.

"Hello?" Lydia answered sleepily.

"Hey, it's Mary. I hope I'm not interrupting anything. I just needed to talk to you about something."

Lydia slowly sat up. "Is your mom okay?"

"Oh, yeah, definitely," Mary began, "She's healing. But, uh, that's not what I called about. There's a reason I didn't renew the lease that I didn't tell you about."

"What do you mean?" Lydia brushed some of her bedhead out her face.

"Eddie got a promotion and the position they gave him is in Phoenix. He asked me to go with him. That day you caught me looking at all the papers, that was right after he'd asked me. I was still deciding." There was silence from Lydia's end. "I know it was a big decision, Lydia, but we've been together for almost two years. I said yes."

Lydia was happy for her, really, but the questions just skipped past her brain and went straight to her mouth. "What about your job? Where are you going to live?" Then it dawned on her. "Where am I going to live? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"I didn't know how to tell you, I'm sorry that I didn't. I talked to Lizzie and she would be okay if I quit, especially since I've already missed almost three weeks of work."

Lydia didn't know how to react. "When do we have to move out?"

"The landlord called me this morning, which is mostly why I called you. He needs us out before next Wednesday."

"Great. So, I need to find a place to stay and start packing. Fantastic. I'm really happy for you, Mary." Lydia pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Are you sure you're okay? I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner, but Eddie has to start as soon as we get back from Jane and Bing's wedding. I'm an idiot for not saying anything."

"Alright. Well, it was nice talking to you, Mary."

"You, too, Lydia." And with that Lydia hung up and got out of bed.

* * *

"Darcy, where are we going?" Lizzie asked as Darcy drove the SUV up the hill. "We've passed dozens of spots. It's getting dark, we'll miss the fireworks."

"Just trust me, Lizzie. We won't," he replied.

Lizzie looked out the window as they drove past all the other cars hoping to get a similar view. Finally they reached the top of the hill, and found a spot with a cone blocking it.

"No way," Lizzie looked across the bay, "The view from here is amazing."

"I had a spot reserved," he said with a smirk. Lizzie raised her eyebrows at him.

"So to speak," he added, getting out of the car. He grabbed the cone, got back in the car, and backed into the spot. Lizzie opened her door and stepped out, still stunned by the view. She looked over at him and smiled.

"So this is where you went when you said you had a 'late night meeting' last night?" she asked with a laugh. Darcy opened the trunk and pulled out the small bag he had brought. He sat inside the trunk and gestured for her to sit next to him. He opened the bag and pulled out two objects wrapped in tinfoil, handing one to Lizzie.

"I was wondering what you did with those cheeseburgers," she said, laughing. She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek. They began eating in silence, admiring the San Francisco skyline, but it wasn't for long. After only a few minutes of taking in the city across the bay, the fireworks started. Lizzie never said it to him, but she thought Darcy had picked the best spot in the entire city. Although, that didn't matter, because after a while, they stopped paying attention.

* * *

Jane couldn't sleep. It might have been the nausea, or the constant need to pee, or the wedding nerves. But it wasn't any of those things. Jane was worried about work. In Bing and Jane's three-bedroom apartment, there was the main bedroom, which was slightly bigger, and then the other two, the guest room and the "multipurpose room." She decided that if she kept worrying in their room she would wake Bing up, so she walked over to the third bedroom, which she realized would soon have to become the nursery. But, for now, it contained all of the random stuff that didn't belong in any other room of the apartment, and that included Jane's wedding dress. She looked at it hanging on the closet door and sat down against the wall next to it. She noticed the curtains were open and the city lights were pouring in. If she hadn't known it, she would never have guessed that it was well past midnight.

Now that she was alone, her mind shifted back to work. She wasn't worried about the short-term effect that the baby was going to have on her career; that was completely unavoidable. What she was really worried about was the long-term effect. She didn't want to stop working. She loved her job and didn't want to worry about it ending for a long time. She hadn't planned for things to go this way; she wanted to be married for a few years before she and Bing finally had a kid or two, but she had made her choice. Her baby – no bigger than a cherry, her books told her- was staying, and she and Bing would be married in less than a week. They would figure everything out, she knew that. But right now, everything just felt crazy.

* * *

"And what time is it there?" Lydia asked Ty. After all the moving around and the fact that tonight she would be leaving for New York, she had decided to Skype him for the first time since he went home.

Ty glanced at his phone. "About two in the afternoon, Thursday. It's still Wednesday for you, right? Of course it is. Dumb question. Did your sister have her wedding? Or has that not happened yet?"

Lydia smiled. "The wedding's on Saturday. We're flying to New York tonight; it's all very exciting. Even better, as you can tell by the drastically boring wall behind me, I'm currently in Lizzie and Darcy's guest room because Mary's moving to Phoenix. Which means I'm homeless at the moment. Which means I'm probably going to end up spending my final year of college in a dorm. Fun." Lydia leaned back, frustrated. Lizzie appeared in the doorway.

"Hold on," Lydia told Ty, taking out one of her earbuds. "What's up?"

"We're leaving in an hour," Lizzie said. "Who are you talking to?"

"Just catching up with Ty. Thanks for the heads up."

"Okay. I won't bother you anymore. Tell her I said hello." Lizzie smiled and left. Lydia put her earbud back in.

"Was that Lizzie?" Ty asked.

"Yeah, she says hi." Lydia sat back up.

"Did she call me a 'her'?"

"What?" Lydia hoped he hadn't noticed. "No, of course not. You know how crappy laptop mics are. She was at the other end of the room." Ty eyed Lydia suspiciously.

"Anyways," he said. "You're going to be homeless next year. Well, so am I."

"You…what? What about your aunt?"

"She decided to move back to Wellington. She'll be gone before I even get here. I thought I would have to live in a dorm, too. But now I've got an idea."

"Do I want to hear this?"

"Yes, now shush. We could room together!" Lydia looked at him in disbelief. "Well, not together-together. We would try to find a two-bedroom flat." Lydia still wasn't sure how to respond. Ty smiled. "Come on, Lydia, it makes sense. I saved up enough money the past few years to start us out, and we could both get jobs."

"Ty…" Lydia began.

"If you're not comfortable with it, then it's completely fine. I'll find somewhere. Don't worry. We've only known each other for a year. It's not a big deal." Lydia could tell he was being sincere. She took a deep breath.

"Not having to live in a dorm would be amazing. I guess having to live with you wouldn't be too terrible."

"Is that a yes?" Ty had a huge smile on his face. Lydia nodded.

"Brilliant!" he exclaimed. "I'll try to fly in sometime next week so we can start looking for a place." Lydia smiled. Maybe next year wouldn't be as bad as she thought.


	5. Welcoming

Lydia hated flying. It had been years since she had been on a plane, and for good reason, but driving all the way to New York City made no sense. So, here she was, at 30,000 feet in the middle of the night, on the way to her sister's wedding. It was beyond nice of Darcy to offer to buy her a first class ticket on the same flight that he and Lizzie were on, but, unfortunately, there were only two seats on either side of the aisle, so Lydia was stuck in the row in front of them, next to conked out middle-aged-business-dad, who had pretty much already been asleep against the window when she had boarded the plane.

To say she had trouble sleeping on planes was an understatement, but of course, the only flight Lizzie and Darcy could score with their crazy work schedules was a red-eye, so she had to do her best. The first half hour –including takeoff- she had done little but look straight ahead and clench the armrests so hard that her knuckles were white. She had eased up a little bit since then, but was still nowhere close to sleeping. She drank water almost non-stop, so she wasn't surprised when, around an hour and a half into the flight, she had to use the bathroom.

She unbuckled her seat belt, stood up, and looked around. The first class cabin was fairly dark so that people could sleep. There was a dark curtain in the back separating them from the main cabin, which made the space feel even smaller. Lizzie and Darcy were both asleep in the seats behind hers. As she walked up the aisle towards the bathroom, she noticed another empty seat by the window in the front row, next to a sleeping man who looked oddly familiar, but she couldn't place him. One of the bathroom doors opened and out stepped another familiar face with equally familiar shiny hair. Of course, this familiar face wasn't watching where she was going, and walked right into Lydia. Lydia took a step back as Caroline looked up. Caroline scanned Lydia's face as if she almost recognized her, but not quite. Caroline smiled.

"My sincerest apologies," she said, as if to a stranger, and went to her seat. Lydia continued into the bathroom, and realized the sleeping man was Senator James Elton, Caroline's shiny new husband. After she was done, Lydia went back to her seat. It was only logical that Bing's sister would be on the same flight as they were, but Lydia wasn't sure why Caroline hadn't flown out of Sacramento, where she actually lived. Lydia shook her head and closed her eyes. She was going to need as much sleep as she could get this weekend.

* * *

"How much?" Lizzie asked the cabbie. She wanted to groan at his response, and for a moment, she was afraid she had.

"I'll cover it," Darcy said, smiling politely at the cabbie. He wouldn't take no for an answer, so Lizzie resigned to help Lydia get the bags out of the trunk. Now it was Lydia that was groaning.

"Because the only thing that could make a five and a half hour plane ride better is an hour long cab ride right after. And it's really hot out." Lizzie smiled as Lydia pulled her suitcase out.

"Lydia, this is The Plaza Hotel. It's probably the nicest hotel we've ever stayed at. I'm sure they have air conditioning." Lizzie couldn't believe this was where her big sister was getting married. Lydia smiled.

"I know. I'm just crabby because I didn't sleep well on the plane. I'll put on my game face when we see Jane." she examined her surroundings: the hotel, Central Park, Fifth Avenue. "This city is amazing." Lizzie nodded, and Darcy came around to get his bag out of the trunk. Almost immediately a bellman was upon them, loading their bags onto a cart and asking them questions. Darcy knew exactly how to respond, and before Lizzie knew what was going on, their bags had been whisked off. Sometimes she forgot that he was used to this sort of thing. He and Lizzie followed an eager Lydia up the stairs and through the revolving door, into the gorgeous lobby. Lizzie didn't think she had ever seen a more amazing chandelier in her life. She studied everything: the grand staircase, the check-in desk, the flowers; her eyes fell on the armchairs and noticed the bright red hair peeking out from behind the back of one of them. Jane turned around a smiled wide.

"Lizzie!" she exclaimed, running over to hug her sister. "Lydia! Darcy! I'm so happy that you're here!" she hugged each of them in turn, then stepped back and quickly straitened her pale peach dress. "It's been too long since the three of us were together at one time." She turned to Darcy, who still looked a bit uncomfortable from the hug. "I'm sorry Bing couldn't be here to see you, his parents got in really late last night. I'm sure you'll see him soon, though. He's not normally one for sleeping in." Darcy nodded and smiled politely. Jane's eyes drifted behind them and she smiled again. She touched Lizzie's shoulder.

"I think I see Caroline and James," she said, looking at Lizzie and then Lydia apologetically. "I promise I'll talk to you two later." She waved and disappeared behind them.

"I have a feeling this is how most of the weekend will be," Lydia said, looking tiredly at Lizzie. Lizzie nodded in agreement, and followed Darcy to the check-in desk.

* * *

Jane had been up since four. Her parents had arrived less than an hour later, and she _had_ to be there to meet them. She understood why, this was a big deal. She hadn't really comprehended that until she had checked in to her own room at The Plaza last night, with the nicest sheets she had ever slept in, and completely separate from Bing. That was their agreed-upon arrangement. It was only Thursday; there were still two days until the wedding. But she had hardly slept, not being able to fall asleep until eleven, and then going non-stop as soon as she got up. There were important friends and family arriving all morning. Jane had only gotten to rest her feet for a few short minutes when she heard her Lizzie and Lydia arrive. She had felt terrible about the brevity of her meeting with her sisters, yet it could not have been helped. There was almost a constant stream of guests; somehow the total had ended up over two hundred with all of Bing's family's connections. Few of them knew Jane, but she had insisted on greeting most of them, and she didn't regret it. Not yet, anyways.

Around an hour after her sisters had arrived, Bing appeared and helped her out. He had planned on being with her the whole time as they both greeted guests, but after his parents' flight got delayed, he stayed up much later than planned –even later than Jane- so she had decided to let him go back to sleep after her parents had arrived. She was glad that it wasn't the entire guest list staying here, though; it was just closer friends and family, people who were participating in the wedding itself.

It wasn't until lunchtime that she and Bing got another moment off their feet. She knew members of Bing's family and her own would be arriving all day, so she savored every minute of it. The flow of people turned to a trickle before long, and not much longer after that, she and Bing had welcomed their last guest that would be arriving that day. Bing headed up to talk to Darcy, and Jane sat down and decided to go talk to Lydia. It had been a while since she had done that.

* * *

"Have you ever taken a walk through Central Park at sunset?" Darcy asked her. He had just gotten back from catching up with Bing. Lizzie smiled.

"No, but there's a first time for everything," she replied. He took her hand and led her down across the lobby, out the revolving door, and across the street into the park. To say the colors were gorgeous was a vast understatement. They began to stroll around The Pond.

"Bing and Jane have really got their hands full with this, haven't they?" Lizzie asked.

"Bing's family is huge; I'm surprised the wedding is as small as it is," Darcy replied.

"Small? This is by far the biggest wedding I've ever been to," Lizzie sighed, "and I can't believe it's my sister's."

"Jane and Bing are friendly people. Naturally, they have more friends that they would want at their wedding. But, you're right. Our wedding would definitely be smaller." Lizzie stopped walking as Darcy realized what he had just said and turned bright red.

"Our wedding?" she asked, smiling.

"Too presumptuous?" he ventured. She nodded with a bit of a laugh. He sat down on the nearby park bench and put his head in his hands.

"No, don't worry about it. It's good that you brought it up. We've been needing to have this talk for a little while anyways," she added, sitting next to him. "We've been together over a year. It's only natural that you –we− start thinking about this sort of stuff."

Darcy lifted his head. "So you've been thinking about it as well?" he asked.

"I suppose I have. More so because of Jane and Bing, I guess. I'm not sure when I want to get married, but it's definitely not _now. _Maybe in a year or so. I don't know, after Longbourne really takes off." She took a deep breath. "I guess what I'm saying is that we shouldn't be worrying about it right now. I mean, there's a lot going on. We're in a good place right now." She looked at him, sitting next to her on the bench in Central Park, unable to read the expression on his face. "I'm making a real mess of this, aren't I?"

Darcy smiled. "You're doing a much better job than I would have done. And I agree. We're in a good place right now." He stood up. "It's almost dark. Shall we?" He helped her up and they resumed their walk. "Oh, and by the way," he added, "Bing told me about the, uh, baby. He also said you've known since you visited them in May." He eyed her with a joking suspicion.

"Hey, I was going to tell you but Jane threw a pillow at me and told me to let Bing tell you," Lizzie replied with a smile, throwing her hands up in mock defense.

"And you think they have their hands full now," Darcy observed.

"You're saying that now, but after tomorrow's brunch, a kid will feel like a piece of cake."


	6. The Storm Before the Calm

It had been Jane's idea to have a brunch with just the immediate family members the morning before the wedding. As the meal progressed, she wasn't sure that it had been thought out enough. They had been seated at a round table, big enough for twelve people. Jane sat between Bing and her own mother. Next to her mother sat her father, then Lydia, Lizzie, and Darcy. On Bing's left were his parents, then Caroline and her husband. Jane could tell from across the table how grateful Darcy was for the empty seat between himself and Caroline.

The first hour of the brunch had gone smoothly. Bing's parents had become acquainted with Jane's, and Jane had done her best to avoid the touchy topics. But of course, now that Mrs. Bennet was done eating, there was no stopping her.

"So, Bing," Jane's mother started, "what have you been up to lately?"

Bing swallowed his food. "I've actually been volunteering at a non-profit in Hell's Kitchen. We help out kids in, uh, less-than-favorable circumstances; providing tutoring, counseling, balanced meals. It's really rewarding." He smiled.

"That's… wonderful," Mrs. Bennet replied. Jane knew how her mother had felt since Bing had quit med school. Jane also knew that her mother would take Bing's mention of kids as a segway to another topic altogether. Jane had prepared for this, and almost effortlessly navigated around it.

"Lydia, how's school?" she asked. Lydia looked up from her food.

"School's good," she said, flustered.

"What are you studying?" Jane was as surprised as Lydia that this question had come from a genuinely curious James Elton.

"Psychology. This year will be my-"

"You're getting your PhD?" Caroline interrupted.

"What? No, I, uh, I'm only getting a bachelor's degree," She sat up straight and looked Caroline directly in the eye. "As I was saying, I've only got one year left. Then I'll be done with school."

"Shame," Jane heard Caroline mutter.

"What was that?" Lydia asked. Jane saw her father put his hand on Lydia's arm as if to stop her from charging at Caroline.

"Nothing," Caroline replied with a smile, "I just think it's a shame that you're spending all that time in school with barely anything to show for it." Jane was getting angry, and noticed Lizzie was, now, as well.

"Barely anything to-? I can't believe what I'm hearing right now!" Lydia was almost yelling now. Jane could tell this would soon become about money, and needed to be stopped immediately. Luckily, that was when the waiter came and started clearing the plates. Jane promptly excused herself to use the restroom and summoned Lydia to go with her. Lydia got up, fuming, and followed Jane. Caroline was still smirking.

"I'm sorry Lydia," Jane said as they went into the bathroom. She covered her face with her hands. "I'm so, so sorry. This was all my fault. It was a terrible idea."

"Hey. No it wasn't. It was a great idea," Lydia said, hugging her. "I just can't believe you're marrying into, well, _that._"

"Trust me," Jane said, smiling, as she let go. "It's worth it."

* * *

"This is great," Mary said, mouth full of ice cream. Lydia looked around. Somehow Mary had found a little ice cream shop a couple blocks away with unusual, delicious flavors and decorated chalkboard walls.

"Yeah, it is," Lydia replied. She ate another spoonful of peach-rosemary. It had been Mary's idea to come here. The two of them had barely spoken since Mary had dropped the bomb on Lydia, even on the day they moved out.

"Lydia, I'm sorry. It was really stupid of me not to tell you. I thought-"

"Hey, what's done is done. Don't worry about it," Lydia insisted. "Where did you find this place?" Mary looked down at her passionfruit-orange-guava sorbet.

"Pinterest," she ventured. "But that's it? You're not mad at me for, I don't know, making you homeless?" Lydia shook her head.

"Nah, I was just upset about my lack of roommate. But that problem's solved itself now, so it's fine."

"You already found a roommate?" Mary asked. Lydia laughed.

"Don't act so surprised. I'm not _that _intolerable."

"Who is it, then?"

"Ty."

"Ty? You're kidding right?"

"No, I'm not. He's flying in next week so we can start looking for an apartment. It's happening."

"Alright. If you're sure it's what you want, who am I to question you?"

"The one who made me homeless." Mary jokingly shoved her in the arm and they both laughed. Lydia held up her empty bowl. "Thanks for this, Mary. I needed it. Brunch was a living hell this morning. Plus, this was really good. Like, _really_ good."

"Isn't it?" Mary asked, and they got up, threw out their trash, and headed out the door.

* * *

"Okay, we've talked about me enough," Charlotte laughed, "I know you've been waiting patiently to rant. How was brunch?"

"Brunch was lovely, except for the fact that Caroline Lee is insufferable!" Lizzie huffed. She lay at the foot of the bed in her hotel room, Charlotte sitting perpendicular to her against the headboard.

"Eh, it's to be expected," Charlotte said, shrugging. "Besides, isn't it Caroline Elton now?"

"Look, when she can treat my family with respect, then we can talk misnomers."

"Oh, no. What did she do this time?"

"So much, Char, so much. The worst thing by far, though, was definitely towards the end. Lydia was talking about majoring in Psychology, and Caroline just up and asked if Lydia was getting her PhD."

"An honest mistake."

"Easily. But, that wasn't the end of it. After Lydia explained what degree she was actually getting, Caroline stage whispered 'shame' and she said she meant that it was a shame that Lydia was, to paraphrase, 'wasting her time,' which is incredibly rude as it is. But oh, no. It was obvious that she was about to make it about money. She was all but saying that it was a shame that Lydia couldn't _afford_ to get a PhD. I think she was about to actually go there, but luckily Jane managed to get Lydia to the bathroom before things could get worse. It's just- the _audacity_ she has!"

"Wow," was all Charlotte could say.

"Yeah. I won't even tell you what she said when my parents were five minutes late." Lizzie groaned and sat up. She looked at Charlotte.

"This is how it is now, isn't it?" Lizzie asked. "Catching up on the incredibly rare occasion that we see each other? We only live a few hours apart, and it takes my sister's wedding across the country to bring us together?"

"It's ridiculous, I know. But, yeah. I think that's just how it is now. I think we make it work, though. At least it means we're both doing what we want."

"Yeah, I guess. I suppose I just miss living minutes away from each other."

"I couldn't agree more. But, hey, we've got the next few days. When you're not performing maid of honor duty, that is," Charlotte added, smiling. Lizzie nodded and glanced at her phone.

"Oh, speaking of," she began, standing. "I have to start getting ready for the rehearsal dinner. We can talk more then, okay?"

"Definitely. I'll be on my way then. See you tonight," Charlotte got up, hugged Lizzie, and let herself out.

* * *

"What is even the point of this? Rehearsing a dinner? That makes no sense!" Lydia slumped into her chair at the table.

"Hey, this is as much for Jane's benefit as is for ours. And it's barely about the actual dinner. It's more for our two families to get acquainted with each other," Lizzie explained, watching the slew of unfamiliar faces trickle in.

"Wasn't that the point of that hellish brunch this morning?" Lydia nearly shuddered at the thought of a repeat of that.

"That was Bing and Jane's immediate family: parents and siblings. This is the extended family: cousins, uncles, aunts, grandparents, family friends, etc."

"Why do _we_ have to meet everyone though? I mean, you and I aren't the ones who have to deal with these people for the rest of our lives. After the wedding tomorrow, we'll probably never see a good chunk of these people again." Lydia objected. She looked across the dining room to where Bing and Jane were already talking with a couple that appeared to be Bing's grandparents. She turned back to the table to see Darcy returning from the bathroom.

"You ready?" he asked, grabbing Lizzie's hand and kissing her on the cheek.

"Just waiting on you," she replied with a smile. They began walking towards the ever-growing crowd of people across the room.

"So you're just going to leave me?" Lydia asked. They turned around and Darcy looked at Lizzie for an explanation.

"She doesn't see the point of meeting all those people if she's never going to see them again," Lizzie elaborated. Darcy smiled.

"Lydia, the Lee's are some of the nicest people I've ever met," he offered. Lydia raised her eyebrows.

"Are we forgetting about this morning?" she asked.

"Like I said, some of."

Lydia still didn't budge.

"This is going to be Jane's family. Come on," Lizzie insisted.

"Fine," Lydia groaned, standing up. "This is for Jane. And the food later." Lizzie smiled at Darcy as Lydia wandered off.


End file.
